223 - Barrel Twist Rates

[scootrd]

In your opinions,
What would be the most versatile .223 twist rate out to 300yards ?
Would you select a different twist rate if you reaching out further than 300yards? 

Please share your experiences

Twist rates
1-9, 1-10, 1-12, 1-14, 1-16   
      

[jasonprox700]

I would go with the 1:9.  It will stabilize bullets into the mid 60's and you can shoot down to the 40 grainers with out problems.  My Bushy really likes the 45 gr white box ammo from winchester.  I think the sweet spot is the 52 to 55 grain for it though.

[Catfish]

The twist rate really has nothing to do with how far you want to shoot. It has everything to do with the weight of the bullets you want to shoot. If you want high speed 45 gr. bullets a 1 in 14 twist will do you a great job. If your looking at shooting 80 gr. bullets yoou will need to go with a 1 in 8 twist or a 1 in 7 twist. What are you wanting to shoot at 300 yrds. ? If it`s paper then the bullet weight doesn`t really matter. If it`s PD`s then the lite weight bullets have a better splatter effect and a 1 in 14 twist will do. If it`s coyote I like the 55 gr. bullets and a 1 in 12 twist is best. If your wanting less drift at longer ranges the 69 gr, bullets would be a better choice and you would need a 1 in 9 twist for them. Hope this helped.

[scootrd]

The twist rate really has nothing to do with how far you want to shoot. It has everything to do with the weight of the bullets you want to shoot. If you want high speed 45 gr. bullets a 1 in 14 twist will do you a great job. If your looking at shooting 80 gr. bullets yoou will need to go with a 1 in 8 twist or a 1 in 7 twist. What are you wanting to shoot at 300 yrds. ? If it`s paper then the bullet weight doesn`t really matter. If it`s PD`s then the lite weight bullets have a better splatter effect and a 1 in 14 twist will do. If it`s coyote I like the 55 gr. bullets and a 1 in 12 twist is best. If your wanting less drift at longer ranges the 69 gr, bullets would be a better choice and you would need a 1 in 9 twist for them. Hope this helped.

I was following your train of thought all the way up to your last comment.
Your 1st sentence was twist rate really has nothing to do with how far you want to shoot. but then in your last sentence you said
If your wanting less drift at longer ranges so in my train of though twist does affect accuracy at longer ranges 69 gr bullets provide less drift so better accuracy and so 1 in 9 twist is probably a more versatile twist for a 223. It would do well at shorter 100yrd or 200 yrds range and provide less drift with heavier gr bullets for yrds over 300. Am I thinking this through correctly?

[drdougrx]

Scoot....I have 3 rifles in 223.  Two are AR15 bushys, one is a Rem m700Lite Varmint Stainless Fluted w a 22" barrel.  The bushy I shoot most often is a DCM, 20".  The Bushy has a 1-9 twist, the Rem has a 1-12 twist.  The Rem shoots 40-55gr bullets into dime sized groups with great regularity.  However, I tried the Hornady 68gr Match HP and they actually keyholed!!!

The Bushy shoots 55gr bullets into about an inch or less and, 68gr Hornady match bullets into dime sized groups over and over again.  So...what exactly are you going to do with the rifle...punch paper(as I do w the bushy) or varmint hunt where a 50-55gr bullets are just fine to 300 yards.

BTW...I had a hankering to use the Rem on exotic sheep at a NE preserve where there are several 300-500 acre open fields and shots could get long!  I wanted to use 60gr Nosler partitions.  I could NOT get any kind of accuracy from my Remington at all. 2-3" groups at 100 yards.  I actually settled on using an 06 (pics etc posted in the exotics forum). 

So...If I was going to have another 223 built, I'd first decide what I was going to do with it.  I'd also suggest the 1-9 for versatility and if a truly dedicated varmint gun, I'd go with the 1-12 and shoot lite for caliber bullets.  Hard to go wrong with either.  BTW...each is set up with Timney triggers and 6.5-18 Leupold VXII scopes.